The Shining Sequel Has Cast Its Main Star

It goes without saying that Stephen King is an accomplished author, but it's also cool that many adaptations of his stories have also been successful. One of the most well-known examples (even if King doesn't believe so) is 1980's The Shining, which was directed by Stanley Kubrick, and starred Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance and Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance. The original Shining novel was published in 1977, and 2013 saw the release of the sequel, Doctor Sleep. Now a film adaptation of Doctor Sleep is on the way, and it's just been announced that Ewan McGregor will be playing Danny Torrance, Jack and Wendy's son, in it.

Danny Torrance was portrayed by Danny Lloyd in The Shining movie, and Variety reports that Ewan McGregor has signed on to play the character as an adult in Doctor Sleep, with Stephen King "giving his blessing" on the casting. This will be McGregor's first time acting in a Stephen King adaptation. The actor's notable credits include playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, the Trainspotting movies, Moulin Rouge! and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. He can next be seen playing Christopher Robin's eponymous character. Although The Shining was initially met with mixed critical reaction and only made a little over $44 million domestically, it's since gone on not just to be a cherished King adaptation, but also one of the most popular horror movies of all time. So yeah, Doctor Sleep has a lot to live up to, but casting McGregor as the lead is a good start.

Those of you who've read or watched The Shining know that Danny Torrance went through a lot in the story, and he carried that trauma into adulthood. Doctor Sleep saw Danny still battling his inner demons, handling his rage and drinking heavily to both dull the pain and help his special powers. But upon embracing sobriety, Danny's powers resurface, and he uses them to comfort dying patients, hence his nickname, Doctor Sleep. While doing this, Danny forms a connection with a teenage girl named Abra who also has unusual powers and is being targeted by individuals who share similar abilities.

The Doctor Sleep movie has been in development since 2016, but the project got a jump start following the success of IT, as numerous Stephen King stories are now being sought after for adaptation. Warner Bros has also been developing Overlook Hotel, a Shining prequel, but it remains to be seen if that will move forward. Mike Flanagan, who already has experience directing Stephen King adaptations through Netflix's Gerald's Game, is helming Doctor Sleep. Flanagan's producing partner, Trevor Macy, will produce alongside Vertigo Entertainment's Jon Berg.

Doctor Sleep doesn't have an officially assigned release date yet, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for that information and more updates. For now, look through our 2018 release schedule to learn what movies are hitting theaters later this year.